What IS a “Combat NCO”
I read an email to a Marine Corps General recently concerning the “Combat NCO.” Charles Henderson was shooting it in a stiff wind hitting a gong 12 inches in diameter at 100 yards with C. J. Quilan, both former Marines. After reading their email I feel the NCO could use a little airing as a platform and I replied much as I do here giving a history behind its design compartmentally. Some of the comparisons and comments in the email deserve to be addressed as other pistols do not take them into consideration in their current designs and the Combat NCO does.
Lippard’s Original Combat Pistols came in “NCO, Officer, and General Grade Officer” pistols. Also was an A2 one piece steel knife.
All NCO’s are warranted for life against everything including abuse. So is the knife. To date no NCO has been returned for service.
2 Combat knives were borrowed by 1st Force Recon for 10 years. The finish was restored and are being used today where the toughest
work is required.
First the word “Combat” in the NCO name is a statement of origin. “NCO” because he is the one who uses it . Born in Combat and tested there by Marines, Delta and CIA since 1987 the Combat NCO remains the only “Offensive use” military pistol designed for that duty.
I still recall using my 1911 with telling effect in Vietnam up close and personal. I used it left handed while wounded over a course of weeks and recall clearly the 1911 A1 shortcomings. Later used in missions on the USA border and internationally, those experiences were incorporated in the design of the NCO. A pistol by the way that came into being by request of the US Marine Corps.
Remembering back to those Vietnam days, conditions were poor in Happy Valley Vietnam. It rained a lot and generally it was humid conditions most of the time. Rations for us were sporadic, death was common place and oil supplies were limited. We had to improvise a lot to keep our weapons operational and stay in the fight. It was often hard to keep the guns up and running in serviceable condition.
I was a machinegun squad leader then who crossed over at times to other command positions as they presented themselves or was ordered to do so. My weapon was an M14 that never let me down. Later a Colt 1911 A1 after being wounded and unable to carry the weight of the much favored M14.
Most of us, (And certainly if you belonged to me) used our tooth brushes to clean our guns. Mosquito repellent was the only oil for lubrication including my weapon now forced into use, the 1911. Oil was so scarce that any vehicle, especially a Tank, would guard that vehicle from the ravages of Marines seeking grease and lubricant. In “guns” we would grab what we could by hand and store it in our shirt grenade pouch. Once there, nobody got it back. Or would WANT too!
A long story but maybe you get the picture.
Each morning I would bang or tap my Colt 1911 on a tree. This would break it loose from rusting together over night from moisture and rain. Then I would remove the magazine and try and cycle the firearm. If I could not break it free, I would fire it to do so. Next I would remove all the rounds from my magazines. I carried I think eight, going thru them all in most fights. Generally the first round would come out of the magazine and often the remainder would just fall out as the follower would be frozen in place and not function. I used a little oil in the magazine; not much available unless you came across a Tank, and settled on toothpaste to attempt to break that surface contact. I had some success in doing that but the mag springs would take a set loaded all the time and became too weak to function well under battlefield conditions, especially if any resistance was present.
From combat experience again we found the need for NCO to have a high tech lubricant that would provide positive function in all areas. A “No tree lube.” This lead to the introduction of “lube recesses” to the Slide and Frame of the NCO. In those recesses is used nickel antiseize that I invented first for the SUU16 and SUU21 that went on the F4 Phantom . Those guns were seizing in combat and this solution worked well to fix that. Our Patent Pending recesses now in the NCO not only store but BLEED anti-seize as needed. It will NOT allow a pistol to seize from moisture and heat under most conditions.
While Vice President of Perazzi S.p.A. this material was introduced to reduce galling and choke tubes from seizing in shotgun barrels. After extensive testing popular lubricants in Senora, Mexico hosted by Ernesto Zaragoza and his Solimar Safari Hot Barrel Hunts, (”Perazzi Shotguns” by Karl Lippard) lubricants were tested and failed I might add; a search began for my original anti-seize first used on the SUU16 and later the SUU21 Gatlin. Found to be produced by Loctite Corp., it was produced and packaged for Perazzi for inclusion with their all their firearms.
The NCO comes with anti-seize in application oilers that can be carried into combat in the front pocket, front shirt, helmet or pack.
This Nuclear Grade anti-seize takes the NCO to a -76 degree FH to a + 2,600 degrees and satisfied the Marine Corps requirement for HALO and Hot Weather use pistol.
No tree banging on a NCO!
The NCO does not USE toothpaste in magazines today but rather a heavier Spring and different Follower.
Another point taken in email was the magazines not feeding or “taking 8 rounds.” The NCO magazine issue is related to battlefield experience and also the reason I use a plastic or aluminum follower today. They are unlikely to freeze in place like Vietnam. Second the magazine and spring we use is for 8 rounds BUT we load 6; why? The 8 round spring tends to start out too heavy and stove pipes most every first round. If 8 are loaded and let stand for a while, the spring then takes a 25 percent set and then will not load 8 reliably. 6 rounds for sure it will and 7 too to carry one in the chamber. But we don’t do that.But what the heavy spring does do AFTER it takes a set, is offer the right pressure on round 1 and 6 for combat use. The “Combat NCO” uses this spring setup from combat experience.
But we shoot the NCO in pairs. Why is that???? Because you can fire two rounds at a target BEFORE that target can react to fire.
In the NCO manual of tactical use, (Not available to the public) the NCO is shown to use H & I fire on possible targets, (Just like at Cam Ne) and executing adversaries rooted from those locations. You are taught to use “Topping shots”, shots to the feet, elbows, and armor as they present themselves; ricochet and thru wall shooting tactics. To acquire and engage ANY enemy, at ANY RANGE, that a target can be clearly seen.
The 1911 A1 never HAD this capability and does not today.
Back to eight rounds a second; or more if you have one of those……Combat is NOT a game. There are winners and losers. You have to put your head into what you are doing. It goes like this: “Pow Pow, Pow Pow, Pow Pow.” You count three sets and load. No round seven or even round eight. 4 rounds are not enough to engage and eight rounds are too many as you mostly will carry around 2 and THAT IS NOT GOOD. So you jettison it or loose count. DEAD. Dead man walking. Load 6, live long. Got it?
Now if you have an opportunity to use the pistol as a defensive weapon, and can plink 8, let your loaded mag sit a while and use a Wilson mag spring with 10 coils found in thier list under a replacement springs for THEIR mags OR you will buy 8 coil version for 8 rounds they will take a set and will not chamber 8 anyway. You’re dead again. Which story appeals to you?
All Magazines are not suitable for Combat use. Also note here in military publication the maximum range of a .45 ACP.
To attain accuracy a good frame and slide fit is a must.
NCO’s have hand fit Slides and Frames with special Patent Pending modifications to prevent seizing.
Comes now the matter of Pistol sights. The Marine Corps wanted to KNOW with the new sights and sighting system, the true hand held maximum range of the Combat NCO I designed:
First, I have used the 1911 in the dark in Vietnam “house to house” and “In Your Face” fighting; crawled thru enemy lines burning them out of positions and other fields of combat; lost my “night vision” many times shootingand never needed “glow in the dark devices” to aggress an enemy. Instead I favor a “double tap system” to identify and terminate a target. (Long discussion that.)
During the day, I found it difficult to master the old 1911 trigger, its primitive sights and poor accuracy. But I had cause to use it in an “offensive mode” using my skill to overcome that and prosecute our position. In other words, I DO know what this business is about when it comes to “Offensive use”.
The “Combat NCO” therefore has advanced sights used in combination with a double tap system. These sights will allow for maximum use of the 1911 up to, and exceeding, its maximum effective range. (In the Combat NCO that is 350 yards using the Lippard/Keith sighting method.)
NCO sights are different. Have a good look. The Rear Sight is angled backward NOT FORWARD to redirect strong reflections away from the eye in any combat condition.
The Patent Pending Front Sight has notches for different yardage for extending NCO’s battlefield offensive use while deflecting light away from the eye. A Marine carries chalk…. and changes his sight picture color…. to different battlefield conditions, at will. Often second to second combat selections.
The trigger used on the NCO is a plastic surface composite. It keeps the trigger from freezing as with the Slide, frame, hammer and magazineand freezing to the finger like at the Chosen Reservoir. In my book that example would be Pickle Meadows.
Now then trigger pull must be clean and of a specific weight to shoot a Double Tap System AND to engage targets at 350 to 450 yards depending on your NCO. That trigger pull is 2 1/2 pounds. This is an “offensive” pistol trigger pull not an issue 6 pounds for a last ditch “defensive weapon” technology in use today.
An NCO is an “Offensive use weapon”. Be clear of the differences.
But these innovations are nothing if you have a firearm without accuracy. It must also stand up to long term shooting and have the ability to be repaired simply in a few minutes.
Accordingly the “Combat NCO” embodies a “new Patented concept of barrel technology.” It can be replaced is seconds and replaced for about 4 dollars. I hope the military takes note of the dollar difference here as their military cannons, machineguns and all barreled weapons come under this cost saving Patent as well. This gives the Combat NCO a economic life 1,000% longer than current use pistols in service. It remains accurate for thousands of rounds by use of a new Patent Pending Lippard Military Link attached to the barrel and frame keeping the barrel aligned in battery. The NCO Charles Henderson was firing in distance testing is owned by a customer and fired over 25,000 rounds; was not cleaned beforehand and was true to the original pistols made for the military in 1987.
The Shape of the very wide Lippard Military Link allows it to fit into the dust cover of the 1911
here shown barrel reversed to show clearance.
The Patented Lippard Military Link keeps the NCO in correct battery without barrel modification.
The Military Link is not the bicycle link locking system of a 1911 A1 That story is over. Any firearm not using a Lippard Military Link with horizontal and vertical adjustment is simply out of date.
The Combat NCO pistol has a Nose Piece with barrel bushing. The exit hole is of a specific size and length to contain the barrel gases to enhance “night vision retention.” Further it balances the pistol correctly. The common 1911 is not balanced correctly and the NCO Nose Piece is specifically weighted to compensate and stabilize the weapon during firing. The barrel bushing is made of S7 tool steel that retards wear. This S7 is used for the Nose Piece itself, as is the Hammer, Barrel Military Link, Barrel, Sights, Firing Pin, Sear and Slide Stop. (Click here to view parts) The Nose Piece is further slopped or angled down to allow its long distance shooting system to not be obstructed by it. Removal is simple using a 5.56mm round in the disassembly hole and rotating normally. The Military Version today has another use for that hole and allow for Lasing targets up to 1 1/2 miles in day light. That feature is not sold to the public or available except to the military. Its additional functions are not disclosed here.
The Combat NCO also comes with a standard S7 Barrel Bushing toofor normal carry if required.
There are two kinds of Barrel Bushings. The NCO on the left is our rough finish.
Compare to a finished and serial numbered popular 1911 on the right.
Pull your 1911 out and compare it to an NCO rough part. It should look like ours. The NCO Bushing is Patent Pending.
Now the NCO still has a lanyard loop. Why? Well first the Marine Corps wanted it is a quick answer because of Mud. This was and still is a problem with all 1911’s is bloody mud!
In the trenches of WWI and Pelieu Marines were face down in it. I did some crawling too with a 1911 in Vietnam and think I know something about that too. (Book: “The Warriors, the United States Marines” by Sgt. Karl C. Lippard found here or on Ebay.) Marines know allllll about mud and so does the Combat NCO. The NCO is designed for it and it “swims.” A term meaning a pistol is designed to come out of the mud and water ready fight.
Does your 1911 variant Swim?
Let’s talked about mud a little. And it might do to have a look at the test report and how the NCO was tested elsewhere in the NEWS under “Combat NCO Revisited.” The Hammer on the NCO is recessed on both sides of the upright exposed surfaces to keep mud from seizing or obstructing the hammer travel within the Slide preventing function from mud if it should be dropped. (NCO’s were thrown on the ground during magazine changes for testing.) Or from Force Recon Marines simply from crawling thru it taking care of business. Now if mud IS compressed INSIDE the Hammer walls internallyor moisture seizes the Hammer in place say from freezing temperatures, the Hammer body itself is recessed on the inside surfaces where antiseize is placed to stop that problem of seizure. To capture mud here and arrest it until it can be safely removed. Removed later…. or even next year. The Lippard NCO Hammer is Patent Pending.
NCO Hammers “Swim”.
The Patent Pending NCO Hammer has a Sear ledge of 0.028″ for a clean Sear release and matched with an S7 Sear for long wear lasting the life of the firearm of 150,000 rounds. And to keep these systems firing continually the NCO uses a STI/Lippard Sear Spring. This modified spring is stainless steel and modified to function with a Mud covered surface. It functions with a low footprint and scrapes the surface on firing removing debris from the Sear, and Disconnector.
An S7 Sear Chip is necessary to keep the Hammer and Sear engagement correct for 150,000 rounds of a Combat NCO. There is also a Patent Pending on the Sear that changes a Sear engagement of 13 pounds to a trigger pull of 2.5. Can you tell how that is done? An NCO can have a 1.250 trigger pull and still have a sear ledge engagement of 8 pounds……
Not yet seen on a NCO but Patent Pending is a new Ambi Safety which makes it truly useable with a weak hand without coming loose. Something wounded I could not operate left handed. Also present is an Ambi Mag Release not only for weak hand use but because the 1911 magazine release is on the wrong SIDE for combat operations.
The grips were spoke of in email too, how ours used one kind and another pistol had something else. Personally I don’t care what other pistols use because only the Combat NCO was designed for Combat use. Ours is a business tool and I have little use for anything on the NCO not suitable for its purpose. Pachmayr Grips? Sure. Won’t freeze. I may have been head of Frank Pachmayr’s shop and several divisions but his grip are the only ones to fit the criteria given for the job. The Marine requirement of the pistol not sticking to the hand if drawn after HALO or in subzero conditions have been met. The reason why the Grip Safety is Teflon coated.
The finish on the military NCO’s were Parkerized which is a chemical process for renewal. The Civilian NCO’s come blued and do not share a few features with its military brother. Bluing can be renewed in about 12 minutes or touched up in one. Other tree bark and painted patterns look good but cannot be renewed without a complex restoration process and also impedes function under “NCO Combat conditions.” Further the rails and recesses with painted surfaces create problems of function.
So the “Combat NCO” IS a Combat pistol And while there many nice accurized pistols with tritium sights, colored skins, ventilated triggers, 8 round magazines or 14, I challenge all to this:
Open up a Colt, Kimber, Springfield, Dan Wesson, Wilson, Clark, Les Baer or Ed Brown etc. (with all due respect); lay all the parts out on a table. Now show me where is a difference in all these guns?
Below on another line lay out all of a Combat NCO. Here you can see quickly most of the parts are different. Yet they fit in all the other guns on display….Hummmm?
Now Show ME, a Combat Marine, the features that allow those other offerings to function in operations and experiences related above. Show me HOW, they compare to an NCO?
The answer gentlemen; is they don’t compare. Don’t compare AT ALL. A “Mud Marine,” they know the difference.
Now I am about winning an engagement, prosecuting a military operation, under ALL conditions with the weapons at hand. It’s a Marine Corps thing. And given my experience having been so engaged with a record of success I can say with authority the “1911 Combat NCO model A2″ has no peers for its use on the battlefield. A dated platform sure under the “Combat NCO A3 and A4;” but better with these features than ANY pistol I know of today. Add NCO features to another weapon listed and it too is comparable to a Combat NCO. If smart, modify a M4, M2, M60, M14, M16 with Combat NCO technology on the battlefield. It is after all about “coming out the other side.” About winning.
So what about your civilian pistol? You need it to do what; last longer? Be more accurate? Trim it up. Combat NCO components can do that.
This Les Baer was made accurate after being converted with NCO Barrel, Military Link, and Barrel Bushing.
A fine Wilson Combat pistol made more accurate using the Patented Military Barrel Link and Patented barrel modifications.
We DO NOT do this work on pistols. If we just installed a Military Link, and your pistol has an unsatisfactory Barrel or Bushing in it; the accuracy you want is probably not going to be there.
A 0.007″ clearance of Barrel and Bushing is not going to cut it with our NCO pistols, or a Barrel Link with Slide Stop gap of 0.017″ either! But we have so treated Dan Wesson, Kimber, Springfield that are now accurate and sport “NCO 45 ACP” barrels and components.
Notice too on the Les Baer pictured above with the “Cam Ne” magazine bumper and the Pachmayr NCO’s at the page top. The Cam Ne’s are weighted to jettison the magazines to quick load another. They also have a groove in it to allow stuck magazine removal. A stuck magazine at “Cam Ne” nearly ended the life of the engaged young Marine against an AK47. Removed just in time you know the winner, and why it is called a “Cam Ne” today!
These Patented parts are available to the Trade. With this knowledge why does your favorite gunmaker not advance their 1911 design? They have no excuse.
Pick up the phone or send an email to say, Colt, (As it remains one of my favorites) and ask if your pistol can be upgraded to “Combat NCO standards.” Ask why if the COST is the same that your pistol, maybe it’s a Dan Wesson as example; doesn’t HAVE a Military Link in it? Why still a Bicycle link?
You HAVE the education now to know the difference in a 1911 A1 pistol and what makes it MORE than a tree bark covered Gucci pistol that glows in the dark. And by God be sure it is made in America!! Only a few of use are left that can say that.
The “Marine Combat NCO” weapon designed for USMC, by request, as an Anti-Terrorist weapon to meet that threat. It was then designed and tested by a former Marine who had “much combat experience” they say. (Often lied about today from 3/9 many years ago in Vietnam.) But I am proud to have been one of General Joseph Hopkins men who engaged every day at Cam Ne with an old 1911 and lived to improve it for another generation of Marines. The Combat NCO deserves the right to be CALLED “Combat” because it was born there. And “NCO” because he is the man who uses it, and leads the way. I used it because I WAS that NCO and my battalion heard that 1911 in the early morning air. They no doubt flinched knowing an old 1911 was in trouble danger close. My men depended on me then to lead the way if still standing. I pass on the Combat NCO to those who must take my place with the proper tool for the job.
I hope to close on the attributes of the NCO. It has no peers in the A1 class. None. It IS a matter of fact. Why instead not shift to the A3 and A4? But until you demand these design changes advance current offerings, these Patents that advance weapons like the M4, the M2; all machine guns and pistols in service; then America awaits advances from Foreign sources. Our only salvation; YOUR ONLY salvation; is that Karl Lippard alone holds Patents or Patent Pending on all the advances contained on this page.
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So “What is a Combat NCO” and how does it get its name? You now know the answer. It comes from a Sergeant of Marines: Karl C. Lippard. It’s a pistol born of combat and every time an NCO is loaded you have your hand on the Part that says that exact place. Now a piece of sand, it is called Cam Ne.
Bio: A Drill Instructor, Sgt. Karl Lippard was also a Jungle Instructor and taught Mines, IED’s and Booby Traps. He was also Hand to Hand Combat Instructor for the Marine Corps at MCRD. His specialty: Combat. He was wounded five times in action.